The Serie A Round 9 kicks off in just about one hour with a mouthwatering Sassuolo – Inter clash and we have done our best to bring you the latest possible lineups for all the 20 sides of the Italian top-flight. Time for some last minute checks before lining up your Fantasy Football squad and then relax, sit back, and enjoy another action-packed calcio weekend!
In bocca al lupo a tutti!
Atalanta
After their glory night in Liverpool, Atalanta need to get back on track in Serie A as well. Their last outing ended in a unexpected goalless stalemate with Spezia. Gian Piero Gasperini is expected to make a few changes in the lineup that raided Anfield on Wednesday, with Cristian Romero getting a chance from the start in defense and the Colombian duo Luis Muriel – Duvan Zapata leading the front-line.
Robin Gosens suffered a slight injury during the game in Liverpool and it remains to be seen whether he will be available for tonight’s game with Verona. In case, Matteo Ruggeri should take his spot as a left wing-back.
Ruslan Malinovskyi tested positive for Covid a few days ago and won’t be of the game, together with Aleksei Miranchuk and Mattia Caldara.
Probable Starting XI (3-4-1-2): Gollini; Sutalo, Romero, Djimsiti; Hateboer, de Roon, Freuler, Ruggeri; Gomez; Muriel, Zapata
Unavailable: Malinovskyi, Miranchuk, Caldara
Benevento
The Streghe’s morale received quite a boost last week as they broke a four-game losing streak by topping Fiorentina away. However, today’s task looks daunting for Filippo Inzaghi’s side as they receive Juventus at the Ciro Vigorito Stadium.
After serving a one-match ban, Gianluca Caprari will be available again and should join Gianluca Lapadula and last week’s winner Carmine Improta in a three-man attacking line.
Probable Starting XI (4-3-2-1): Montipò; Letizia, Glik, Caldirola, Barba; Hetemaj, Schiattarella, Improta; Ionita, Caprari; Lapadula
Unavailable: Iago Falque, Dabo, Viola, Foulon
Bologna
Bologna have a chance to improve their mid-table ranking in the league as they receive last-placed Crotone at home. Sinisa Mihajlovic doesn’t seem to have any major lineup problem and he could possibly even recover Andrea Poli in time for tomorrow’s game.
No suprises on the front line, where Riccardo Orsolini, Roberto Soriano and Musa Barrow will support lone striker Rodrigo Palacio.
Probable Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Skorupski; De Silvestri, Tomiyasu, Danilo, Hickey; Schouten, Poli; Orsolini, Soriano, Barrow; Palacio
Unavailable: Skov Olsen, Dijks, Santander
Cagliari
Bad news for Eusebio Di Francesco as his Cagliari side prepare to receive Spezia. The Islanders lost two key players like Nahitan Nandez and Giovanni Simeone who both tested positive for coronavirus. Veteran striker Leonardo Pavoletti should thus be in charge of the front-line.
In defense, Charalampos Lykogiannis and Diego Godin won’t be available either. 21-year-old Alessandro Tripaldelli will thus get another chance from the start as left back with Estonian center-back Ragnar Klavan will join Pawel Walukiewicz in the middle of the defense.
Probable Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Cragno; Zappa, Walukiewicz, Klavan, Tripaldelli; Rog, Marin; Ounas, Joao Pedro, Sottil; Pavoletti
Unavailable: Nandez, Lykogiannis, Luvumbo, Ciocci, Godin, Ceppitelli
Crotone
Crotone are in desperate need of some points as they have collected only two so far. They will face Bologna at the Renato Dall’Ara with their usual 3-5-2 formation and all men available except for Luca Cigarini. Sebastiano Luperto will re-took his place back in defense after serving a one-match ban.
Probable Starting XI (3-5-2): Cordaz; Magallan, Marrone, Luperto; Molina, Benali, Petriccione, Vulic, Reca; Messias, Simy
Unavailable: Rispoli, Cigarini
Fiorentina
The change at the helm of Fiorentina, with Cesare Prandelli replacing Giuseppe Iachini, still didn’t bear any fruit as the Viola are coming from a shocking home defeat to Benevento. Thus, something needs to change – starting from the module.
Prandelli is expected to switch to a four-man defense, with Cristiano Biraghi and Martin Caceres playing as full backs. Franck Ribery suffered an injury last week, but should still be able to start and join Dusan Vlahovic in the attack, with Giacomo Bonaventura playing alongside them.
Probable Starting XI (4-3-2-1): Dragowski; Biraghi, Pezzella, Milenkovic, Caceres; Amrabat, Pulgar, Castrovilli; Bonaventura, Ribery; Vlahovic
Unavailable: None
Genoa
Genoa will face Parma on Monday in what looks like a true relegation battle – at least as things stand now, with only one point separating the two sides sitting 19th and 17th in the table. Roland Maran will have a few key players missing – Andrea Zappacosta, Cristiano Biraschi, Domenico Criscito – and will have to resort to eternal Goran Pandev – who will play in attack alongside Gianluca Scamacca – to get anything out of this very crucial game.
Between the sticks, Federico Marchetti will substitute Mattia Perin who was sent off last week and his serving a one-match ban.
Probable Starting XI (3-5-2): Marchetti; Goldaniga, Zapata, Masiello; Ghiglione, Rovella, Badelj, Lerager, Pellegrini; Pandev, Scamacca
Unavailable: Pjaca, Criscito, Melegoni, Cassata, Zappacosta
Inter
The opener of Serie A Round 9 today at 3.00 PM is a do-or-die game for Inter, who cannot afford any other pas faux after almost bidding farewell to their Champions League chances on Wednesday – when they lost 0-2 to Real Madrid.
Antonio Conte seems to be willing to make a few changes in his lineup as he prepares to face high-flyng Sassuolo, though few could have expected that Romelu Lukaku would start from the bench. Lautaro Martinez’s attacking partner will be Alexis Sanchez, with Arturo Vidal playing behind them despite hif mid-week madness.
Matteo Darmian and Ivan Perisic will play as wing-backs as Achraf Hakimi and Ashley Young will get some rest.
Probable Starting XI (3-4-1-2): Handanovic; Skriniar, De Vrij, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Gagliardini, Perisic; Vidal; Sanchez, Lautaro Martinez
Unavailable: Vecino, Padelli, Nainggolan, Kolarov, Pinamonti
Juventus
The news of the day is that Cristiano Ronaldo will take some rest today in Benevento, so Paulo Dybala can finally get a chance from the start alongside Alvaro Morata. Resting time also for Juan Cuadrado and Dejan Kulusevski, with Federico Chiesa and Gianluca Frabotta expected to cover the wingback positions.
New chance from the start also for Aaron Ramsey, who will play behind the two strikers.
Probable Starting XI (3-4-1-2): Szczesny; Bonucci, de Ligt, Danilo; Chiesa, Bentancur, Rabiot, Frabotta; Ramsey; Dybala, Morata
Unavailable: Chiellini, Buffon, Demiral
Lazio
Lazio’s morale is high after the Biancocelesti convincingly dismantled Zenit in their last Champions League outfit on Tuesday. On top of that, Simone Inzaghi may finally have back his starting goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is also expected to be of the game.
After a few troubled weeks, some good news for Lazio who will face struggling Udinese at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday.
Probable Starting XI (3-5-2): Strakosha; Patric, Acerbi, Radu; Lazzari, Milinkovic-Savic, Lucas Leiva, Luis Alberto, Fares; Correa, Immobile
Unavailable: Luiz Felipe, Lulic, Muriqi
Milan
How will Milan fare without their talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic?
The mid-week Europa League test against Lille showed how much Zlatan is still important to the Rossoneri as they prepare to welcome Fiorentina and defend their surprising top-spot in the Serie A table.
Ante Rebic once again will have the chance to fill in the Swede’s big shoes, with Alexis Saelemaekers and Brahim Diaz playing on the wings.
Probable Starting XI (4-2-3-1): G. Donnarumma; Calabria, Kjaer, Romagnoli, Hernandez; Kessié, Bennacer; Saelemaekers, Calhanoglu, Brahim Diaz; Rebic
Unavailable: Rafael Leao, Ibrahimovic
Napoli
Napoli will face Roma in the match-clou of this Serie A Round as they try to recover from the shock of Diego Maradona’s passing. The will surely try to take one for him.
Victor Osimhen is still unavailable, so Gennaro Gattuso is expected to deploy again Dries Mertens on the front-line. Behind him, Matteo Politano, Piotr Zielinksi and Lorenzo Insigne should constitute his supporting trio.
Tiemoué Bakayoko was sent off last week and will be replaced by Diego Demme in the middle of the park.
Probable starting XI (4-2-3-1): Meret, Di Lorenzo, Manolas, Koulibaly, Mario Rui; Fabian Ruiz, Demme; Politano, Zielinski, Insigne; Mertens
Unavailable: Hysaj, Osimhen, Rramhani
Parma
Parma travel to Genoa to close Serie A Round 9 and face a direct contender for the relegation. Fabrizio Liverani is expected to give a chance from the start to 23-year-old Juan Brunetta, who bagged a brace in Coppa Italia during the week.
The attacking line should consist of Gervinho and Roberto Inglese, but the latter could also leave room to either Yann Karamoh or Andreas Cornelius.
Probable Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Sepe; Iacoponi, Osorio, Bruno Alves, Gagliolo; Kucka, Cyprien; Kurtic, Brunetta, Gervinho; Inglese
Unavailable: Mihaila, Valenti, Laurini, Hernani, Pezzella
Roma
Edin Dzeko is finally back and will retake his spot on the front-line, and so will Lorenzo Pellegrini in midfield. The only absentee for Paulo Fonseca – on top of long-term injured Nicolò Zaniolo and Javier Pastore – is Marash Kumbulla, but Chris Smalling knows what he’s doing and will easily replace him in defense.
Roma are still unbeaten on the pitch this season, have a Henrikh Mkhitaryan in tip-top shape and come from 0-2 win to CFR Cluj in Europa League. They will face Napoli away on Sunday night in a classic Serie A match-up.
Probable Starting XI (3-4-2-1): Mirante; Mancini, Smalling, Juan Jesus; Karsdorp, Pellegrini Veretout, Spinazzola; Pedro, Mkhitaryan; Dzeko
Sampdoria
Claudio Ranieri will have a full squad available except for Balde Diao Keità but he mimself won’t be of the game as he was sent off last week. He will be replaced on the bench by his second-in-command Paolo Benetti.
Fabio Quagliarella’s attacking partner should be Valerio Verre, though Manolo Gabbiadini also has a chance. Defenders Tommaso Augello and Lorenzo Tonelli have served their match-bans and will be available from the start again.
Probable Starting XI (4-4-2): Audero; Bereszynski, Yoshida, Tonelli, Augello; Candreva, Thorsby, Ekdal, Jankto; Verre, Quagliarella
Unavailable: Keita
Sassuolo
Sassuolo receive Inter to continue leaving the dream. The Neroverdi sit second in the Serie A table, only behind Milan, and have a chance to show what they’re really made of as they receive Antonio Conte’s Inter in the matchday opener.
Francesco Caputo didn’t manage toan recover from his injury, but coach Roberto De Zerbi can still count on an impressive offensive package featuring Domenico Berardi, Filip Djuricic and Jeremie Boga behind 20-year-old sensation Giacomo Raspadori.
Probable Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Consigli; Ayhan, Marlon, Ferrari, Rogerio; Locatelli, Lopez; Berardi, Djuricic, Boga; Raspadori
Unavailable: Caputo, Romagna, Ricci, Haraslin
Spezia
Still many absences among Vincenzo Italiano’s lines, but Spezia are continuing to hold their own in their first Serie A season. With Andrey Galabinov still out, the offensive trio should be composed of Diego Farias, M’bala Nzola, and Emmanuel Gyasi.
Young sensation Tommaso Pobega should start from the bench on Sunday against Cagliari, his spot being taken by Gennaro Acampora.
Probable Starting XI (4-3-3): Provedel; Mattiello, Terzi, Erlic, Bastoni; Acampora, Maggiore, Ricci; Farias, Nzola, Gyasi
Unavailable: Ferrer, Chabot, Mastinu, Verde, Bartolomei, Galabinov, Sala, Capradossi, Zoet
Torino
Torino welcome Sampdoria at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino in one of the two Monday-night games of this Serie A Round. Andrea Belotti had an injury earlier this week but seems to have recovered an should be of the game along with Simone Zaza on the front-line.
Marco Giampaolo seems to have switched to a three-man defense, with 19-old Wilfried Singo maintaing his spot as right wing-back in view of his shining recent performances and Cristian Ansaldi covering the other flank.
Probable Starting XI (3-5-2): Sirigu; Bremer, N’Koulou, Lyanco, Rodriguez; Singo, Meité, Rincon, Linetty, Ansaldi; Zaza, Belotti
Unavailable: Baselli, Gojak, Lukic, Vojvoda, Ujkani
Udinese
Luca Gotti seems to have found his ideal lineup and last week he also welcomed back the three points as the Bianconeri ousted Genoa 1-0. Gotti’s starters will be the same as last week, with Ignacio Pussetto and Stefano Okaka leading the attack – though with few back-up options as both Kevin Lasagna and Ilja Nestorovski are currently unavailable.
Probable Starting XI (3-5-2): Musso; Becao, Nuytinck, Samir; Stryger-Larsen, De Paul, Arslan, Pereyra, Zeegelaar; Pussetto, Okaka
Unavailable: Lasagna, Nestorovski, Mandragora, De Maio
Verona
Verona’s Serie A march came to a sudden halt last week as the Scaligeri fell 0-2 to Sassuolo. Traveling to Bergamo to face Atalanta tonight surely won’t be an easy task on the way for a prompt recovery.
On top of that, Nikola Juric will not have his central striker Nikola Kalinic, who will be substituted by Samuel Di Carmine. 20-year-old defender Matteo Lovato is fully recovered but will likely be sitting on the bench at least in the start.
Probable Starting XI (3-4-1-2): Silvestri; Cetin, Ceccherini, Dawidowicz; Faraoni, Tameze, Veloso, Dimarco; Barak; Zaccagni, Di Carmine
Unavailable: Lazovic, Magnani, Ruegg, Gunter, Vieira, Benassi, Kalinic
